Trauma is not a car crash, an incident of rape or war!

Travis Knowlton LCSW
5 min readSep 7, 2021

It is a bio-physiological response.

Lets imagine for a moment, Two children go through the same experience if their parents divorce. Years later, one is successful and has all the joys of life. The other is a homeless drug addict. Why? What could cause such a drastic difference in the outcome of two people who experienced the same event?
Resiliency is the simple answer. But how does one build such resiliency?
Before we answer that, let’s look at how we perceive and process stress.
It is important to note that the following will be an explanation from which we can gain insight and practicality.

NOTE: For more in-depth knowledge and understanding, please review citations. It is important to note that the following will explain how we can gain insight and practicality. For more in-depth knowledge and understanding, please review the citations.

Our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth are the receptors that interpret the outside world for us. If they sense danger, it sends a signal to and through the polyvagal nerve ( 10th cranial nerve), and our collective nervous system decides what needs to be done. It is called polyvagal because vagal means wandering in Latin; this nerve has thousands of connections throughout our body, connecting to almost every function of the human body. Thus, it will begin to send the signal in a stressful situation. Restrict or stop unnecessary bodily functions such as digestion…

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Travis Knowlton LCSW
Travis Knowlton LCSW

Written by Travis Knowlton LCSW

I'm a husband, father, veteran, and licensed clinical social worker that is here to enjoy and share!

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